Overview
- The seventh Global Environment Outlook, released in Nairobi at the UN Environment Assembly, is billed as the most comprehensive review to date and draws on contributions from nearly 300 scientists from more than 80 countries.
- The assessment says achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and restoring biodiversity will require about $8 trillion in global investment each year.
- Greenhouse gas emissions reached a record high in 2024, and current policies put the world on roughly a 2.4°C warming path by 2100.
- The report quantifies severe impacts, including up to 40% of land degraded, more than a million species at risk, around nine million pollution-related deaths annually, and plastic waste losses estimated at $1.5 trillion a year.
- Authors call for cross-economy reforms such as ending fossil fuel subsidies, scaling renewables, advancing a circular economy, sustainable agriculture, and moving beyond GDP, while warning cooperation is faltering after stalled plastics talks, limited progress at the Brazil climate summit, and U.S. objections reported in Nairobi.